This invention relates to ordnance devices, and more particularly to an air-droppable missile housing a plurality of individual bomblets having pressure-sensitive fuzes that can be armed and detonated automatically, independently of a spinning momentum.
Bomblets presently in use employ fuzes that are spin-armed aerodynamically by flutes formed on the outer surfaces of the bomblets. The reliance on spin arming of such fuzes is unacceptable for Navy use due to the hazard presented by accidental spillage on deck causing bomblet arming and firing. Recent Navy safety directives limit the use of spin-armed cluster weapons in that they cannot be brought back aboard an aircraft carrier by strike aircraft because of the hazard presented by an arrested landing. In such a sudden stop, the bomblets could spill out, roll across the deck and detonate through the spinning action. Similarly, a takeoff by an aircraft from a land-based runway in the presence of friendly personnel can also be hazardous. Another objection to spin-armed bomblet fuzes is that they require the bomblet to be oriented to the proper spin attitude and reach a minimum spin rate before arming is initiated. This requirement dictates a minimum release altitude to achieve bomblet arming which will most likely be undesirable in many future weapons. Still another disadvantage of spin-armed bomblets is that a hole forms in the center of the bomblet pattern on the ground due to magnus dispersion when released from high altitudes necessitating the overlapping of several bombing patterns to achieve maximum coverage.